Nikon School's creative lighting DVD is an inspiration for all shooters irrespective of brand

By David Langs

There is an old chestnut that goes "there's a first time for everything;" this review takes that notion and squares it. After scouring our archive of B&H newsletters, I think this will be the first dedicated review of a DVD we have produced. B&H stocks a large selection of tutorial videos, software, and books; frankly we all own at least one educational tool that we were forced to rely on when the product manual wasn't enough. The fact that I am not one for watching a lot of television is an amusing irony that should not be missed while reading this overview of the very informative Nikon School Creative Lighting DVD.

I'm no Truffaut and I am not going to critique this guide as such - fussing about dialogue and mise en scène is the wrong way to approach a tutorial guide. The real test is to see if a 2 hour and 34 minute DVD can keep me intrigued enough to watch it in its entirety. So let's press play and find out...

I'll pause at the opening credits to give a bit of background about the DVD. First of all, the Nikon School has been a traveling series of seminars running since the fall of 1969, teaching the basics of photography to beginners irrespective of the camera brand they may own. Being a Nikon event, the equipment utilized puritanically adheres to the Nikon brand, but the information, photographic rules and tips are universal. The DVD series is an offshoot of these seminars and in many cases goes beyond what the live events offer in terms of a deeper exploration of the subject matter.

Another point of note is that the Creative Lighting System (CLS) is Nikon's branding of wireless TTL flash activation. This feature is also available on Canon, Pentax, and Olympus system cameras and flashes, with varying degrees of sophistication – inarguably led by Nikon's implementation of this technology. Most of what is shown on this DVD with Nikon's Speedlights can be duplicated with these other brands as well as non-dedicated, or non TTL portable flashes or strobes.

So without any further ado, our feature presentation. The DVD is hosted by the rather personable Bob Krist; a photographer with a long list of credentials and perfect for this type of instructional video. It is broken down into three distinct sections; the first delves into the basics of lighting and outlines common modifiers. While the second goes into the intricacies of Nikon's Speedlights and fills in the gaps the flash manual may have missed. While the third is more advanced and shows renowned photographer, Joe McNally utilizing his seemingly endless supply of Speedlights in a variety of location photo shoots.

The first segment may not teach much to seasoned pros and might cause a few tsk-tsks where lighting rules are being taught with such broad generalizations. Any pro will tell you: know the rules and know when to break them. On the other hand, newbies will suck up all of the detailed and thorough info here like a sponge. All of it is key information and globally applicable across the genre of lighting. The basic three-point lighting setup, lucidly defined here, is as important a guideline as the 'Sunny f/16' rule (which if you don't know is an old chestnut that suggests matching your shutter speed to your ISO, then setting the aperture to f/16 in order to get a good exposure on a bright day). In this segment, it is particularly impressive to see "simple" shoe-mount flashes providing enough sculptural light for studio portraiture.

Non-Nikon users may want to skip the next part of the DVD since it goes into detail about how to use the functions of the range of Nikon Speedlights. If you do own Nikon gear, some of the extra functions and lesser known Speedlights, like the SB-R200, are presented in-depth and will lead to a greater appreciation of the powerful camera-to-Speedlight connection that exists in the Nikon world.

The last section is definitely the most interesting one with the greatest amount of mass appeal. It is loaded with tons of inspiration and guidelines for novices and advanced shooters alike as Joe MacNally finds ways to use increasingly more and more Speedlights on location shoots of equally increasing complexity. It culminates in a shoot that incorporated over 12 different flashes; Joe used so many he and Bob confessed to losing count. Furthermore, this segment has the best explanation of Nikon's Auto PF High-Speed Flash Sync that I have ever seen - a feature often glossed over by many Speedlight owners. This method pulses several bursts of light at tiny fractions of a second to provide illumination when using shutter speeds beyond what the camera is normally able to synch to. On a technical note, they are somewhat remiss in not mentioning the light output loss that occurs when using this mode.

Overall the DVD has excellent replay value for photographers of all skill levels. As a photographer who once carved out a niche for himself by producing studio effects in some rather inhospitable locations, I didn't expect to learn much – I was wrong. For an old dog like me, the DVD had performed one new trick in particular as an inadvertent selling tool for the recently introduced SB-900. Frankly, I was blown away by a McNally shoot in which he placed a single SB-900 on a stand outside in the rain and shot through the window of a second-story dance studio, generating a stunning effect that appeared as if complex stage lighting, a gobo and loads of theatrical props were being utilized. Like many, I was initially shocked by the enormous price jump from the SB-800 to the SB-900, but now I am beginning to appreciate what this flash is capable of.

Additionally my girlfriend, who is just entering the world of SLR photography, finds the DVD fills two very specific needs for her education on the subject. First it is a superb step-up from the Great Digital Pictures instructional DVD that was bundled with her recently acquired Nikon D60. Second, and most important of all (and an apt way to conclude this review,) is that the Creative Lighting DVD is able to successfully convey what I have been unable to do for over three years. This disc illustrates with unquestionable clarity, exactly why I often travel with a multitude of flashes equal to the number of lenses I bring. In that sense, the 2.5 hour long lesson from the Nikon School is an overwhelming success.